


The Bricks That Paved the Road

by Forever_Tank



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandoned Child, Adrenaline, Alcohol, Anger, Based in LRA universe, Blood, Blue Diamond is mentioned, Bonding, Building rapport, Cannibalism, Cars, Child Garnet, Choking someone to death, Ever tried mercenary work?, Fear, Forced Feeding, Frogs, Guns, Hot Weather, Humanizing villians, Might suit you, Muteness, No Set word count, One Shot Collection, Post-Apocalypse, Raiders, References to Drugs, Reflection, Regret, Robbed at gun point, Ruby doesn't understand children, Ruby used to be apart of Blue Diamond's society, Some Humor, Sunsets, Tainted Meat, Toy car - Freeform, Whiskey - Freeform, mercenary, travelling, will contain smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-21 13:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12458550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Tank/pseuds/Forever_Tank
Summary: A collection of oneshots that take place in the 'Long Road Ahead' universe. Some will contains spoilers for the main story but will be tagged as necessary. Updated sporadically1. "The girl was an entirely new experience that she wasn’t equipped to handle. She expressed this much to Sapphire, who told her, rather cryptically, that she’ll understand her soon.Ruby doubted that."2. "Despite all of it, Garnet sipped at her whiskey with a calmness that betrayed the chaos.  "3. "If Yellow Diamond ever got to meet ‘they’, she would tell them how wrong they were. Then she would kill them. "





	1. Bonding TIme

**Author's Note:**

> I'm stupidly proud of this title because it is simultaneously the stupidest title I have thought of but also the most appropriate one I came up with it at five in the morning and I'm pretty sure its a copy of a quote or book title but idk.

**_Bonding Time_ **

 

They first met the girl at the Jersey border.

Wide eyes staring at nothing, curly hair matted and dirty, as bare as the day she was born and covered in lacerations and bruises. She didn’t respond to their calls or their approach, she didn’t respond to Sapphire placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her, nor did she respond to Ruby picking her up and carrying her all the way back to Percy.

When they brought the girl back to the small town, they took her to Doctor Aton and his trainee Priyanka Maheswaran. They quickly ruled that she was disassociated from trauma and that there was nothing that could be done except wait for her to come out of it.

So really, Ruby and Sapphire keeping her wasn’t intentional at first.

It was a temporary arrangement until she was well enough to be sent off to an orphanage down in Camp Pine. But by the time she came out of the state and was able to respond to them and her environment, she had grown on them. Or, more specifically, she grew on Sapphire.

It wasn’t that Ruby didn’t like the girl; it was that she didn’t understand her. She’s met children before, but she’s never had to interact with them, so the girl was an entirely new experience that she wasn’t equipped to handle. She expressed this much to Sapphire, who told her, rather cryptically, that she’ll understand her soon.

Ruby doubted that.

The girl didn’t talk, didn’t seem have an emotion other than neutral, and was more content staring at a wall or playing with her hands than she was playing with other children. In a way, it reminded Ruby of Sapphire, who didn’t really open up until Ruby helped her. And she had a feeling that was exactly what the blonde woman was hoping for her to do: help the girl open up like she did to her.

The problem? She didn’t know _how._

Blue Diamond’s society didn’t have children, much like the rest of the diamonds. Even the outsiders they were ‘reintegrating’ into their society didn’t have children. She didn’t know the first thing about how to even get her to open up.

Which is why she found herself staring at the girl for the majority of the day, knowing that she needed to make a move, but not confident in doing so. Occasionally, the girl would glance back at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering why she was being stared at, and Ruby would blush and stammer out some excuse until the girl looked away and went back with playing with the toy car Sapphire had bought her with the little money they had.

Ruby sat her chin into her palm, letting out a deep breath as she continued to watch the girl. Behind her, she heard Sapphire shuffle on the bed, before her hands pressed on her muscular shoulders.

“You can’t avoid interacting with her forever.” Sapphire whispered into her ear, her hot breath tickling Ruby’s neck.

“I don’t know what you want me to do.” She whispered back.

“Go out with her.” Sapphire responded. “Take her on a trip. You both need to get out of the house.”

“And go where?” Ruby looked back at the blonde woman. She threw out her hands as she spoke. “It’s dangerous outside of Percy this time of year.”

“You used to be a guard, Ruby.” Sapphire pointed out as she sat back on the bed, folding her arms into her lap. “Pretend you’re escorting her.”

The girl looked back at the two women, curious enough about what they were talking about that she had stopped playing with her car and set it aside.

“Sapphire-“

“Ruby.”

Ruby pouted, looking at the girl with discomfort. The girl tilted her head at her. She then looked back at her lover, who was staring at her with an expression that told her that she wasn’t willing to argue any further. A long, drawn out groan escaped from Ruby as she hung her head down.

“It’ll be good for both of you.” Sapphire patted the curly-haired woman’s back and gave her a light push towards the bed. Taking the hint, Ruby jumped off and stepped over to the girl, who looked up at her with those wide blue and brown eyes of hers.

“C’mon, we’re going on a trip.” Ruby offered a grin that was far-too forced to look friendly. The girl nodded and stood. She lifted a hand and Ruby had to stop herself from jerking away when the girl used it to grab her own hand and hold it. Behind her, Sapphire smiled.

“Have fun you two.” She said.

Ruby shot a glare back at her. _You’ll pay for this later._

Sapphire shrugged with a toothy grin.

_Oh well._

* * *

 

Ruby took the girl down the road west of Percy. She had her messenger bag, stuffed with water and food and, as a last minute decision, the girl’s toy car. Inside of the holster attached to her leg was her 10mm colt, loaded with only two bullets because Ruby couldn’t afford the ammo and her pride wouldn’t let her ask Bismuth to spare any more. The girl stayed on her right side, away from the gun as the curly-haired woman instructed her before they headed out.

Ahead of them, the road stretched out to the orange horizon; nothing in their way except the occasional car or fallen tree. The girl was taking in everything she could, looking this way and that and even stopping a couple of times so she could fully take in the sights. Ruby let her at first, but eventually it became annoying because the girl insisted on holding her hand so anytime she stopped, Ruby would end up getting pulled back by her surprisingly strong grip.

She compromised by placing the girl on her shoulders. She seemed to enjoy it; her smile never left her face. Her smile was infectious so Ruby found herself smiling too whenever she looked up at the girl.

“Where to? Left or right?” She asked as they came to a fork in the road. The girl didn’t answer, she only pointed right. Ruby let out a huff as she hiked the girl up a little- she was starting to slip- and started off to the right side of the fork.

“So… you want to tell me your name?” Ruby asked. The girl looked down at her, curls falling around her face, and tilted her head. The curly-haired woman looked up at her for a brief moment. “So we can get to know each other?” She tried. The girl didn’t answer, not that Ruby expected her to in the first place. She never spoke.

“Okay…” Ruby breathed out, drawing the ‘ay’ out as she furrowed her brow and continued down the sandy and broken road.

They continued in silence for a while, until the girl starting poking Ruby in the shoulder and refused to stop even when the woman carrying her swatted her hand away.

“What?!” Ruby finally snapped, glaring up at the girl. The girl was unperturbed by her outburst. She pointed at her bag. With a huff, Ruby squatted down so the girl could get off her shoulders.

“What do you want?” She asked as she opened her bag. “Your car?” The girl shook her head. She made a drinking motion with her hand. “Water?” The girl nodded. Ruby smiled as she took out the item and gave it to the girl.

“Y’know, you could’ve just said that.” She said. The girl shrugged as she took a sip, and Ruby grew irritated. She took a seat on the hot pavement and fetched her own water, twisting the cap off and taking a large drink. Her shoulders were aching from carrying the girl. She rubbed one of them with a hand as she finished the water halfway. Swallowing a large gulp, she screwed the cap back on and placed it in her bag.

“I don’t get how I’m supposed to understand you when you don’t talk.” She commented. The girl said nothing- big surprise- and reacted with only another shrug. Ruby let out a growl.

“Can’t you do anything other than shrug?”

The girl nodded.

“Or nod?”

The girl waved her hand- ‘maybe’

“Or do whatever that was?”

The girl nodded again. Ruby let out a noise of aggravation as she slapped both hands to her face, dragging them down. She wasn’t as patient as Sapphire; the girl got on her nerves quickly.

“I can’t do this. I’m taking you back.” She sat up and the girl shook her head and walked right past her. Ruby twisted around, somewhat surprised.

“Hey, where are you going?!” She turned and ran the short distance after her, grabbing her hand and keeping her from going any further. The girl looked at their intertwined hands and gave a small smile. She tugged Ruby along as she began to walk.

“You want me to follow?” Ruby tried. The girl nodded.

So the next hour was Ruby following the girl down the road. She didn’t seem to have a place in mind like Ruby expected her to, but she enjoyed leading the curly-haired woman, always running ahead whenever Ruby overtook her so she could lead again. Eventually, her brisk pace turned into running with her arms stuck straight out to her sides and making odd noises with her tongue and lips that Ruby couldn’t even begin to mimic. Whenever she changed direction, she moved her arms with her. Ruby didn’t have a clue what she was doing.

“Hey.” The girl stopped and looked back at the curly-haired woman, tilting her head. Ruby caught up with her.

“Do you want to start heading back? We’ve been out for a while now.” Ruby asked, in hopes that the answer would be ‘yes’. The girl shook her head, and she continued her odd game as she ran along the road, occasionally jumping over potholes. Ruby groaned as she looked back down the road; Percy was a long way now.

When she looked back, the girl was gone.

“What?! Hey, where did you go?!” She shouted out as she sped down the road, head twisting left and right. She caught site of the girl down in a cluster of branches, moving back and forth and jumping this way and that. Ruby huffed as she ran down towards her, slipping on the slope of the road and almost tumbling the rest of the way to the bottom.

“What are you doing down here?!” Ruby grabbed under the girls armpits and yanked her back. “You shouldn’t leave without my- _Ew what is that thing!?”_ Ruby jumped back and staggered away as the girl turned around, the ugly thing held tightly in her hands. It was dark green and made an odd croaking noise that reminded Ruby of someone burping, its throat inflating and deflating as it did so. Ruby didn’t fail to notice the third arm growing out its chest. The girl held it out towards her, and the curly-haired woman let out an undignified yelp as she jumped back.

The reaction drew a grin from the girl, and she began to chase her with the poor, struggling thing.

“No get it away from me!” The curly-haired woman turned and ran away from the girl, moving up the road and deliberately heading back east towards Percy. The girl didn’t seem to notice as she continued to chase. It took ten minutes before the creature broke free from the girls grip and hopped off, taking a moment to look back at them with an expression that screamed _fuck you_ before it continued its escape. Both the girl and Ruby were out of breath, each having their hands on their knees as they swallowed air. The girl was still madly grinning and Ruby still looked disgusted.

“That… was… the grossest thing… I’ve ever seen.” Ruby panted out, head turning so she could look at the fleeing creature. Her face scrunched up and she looked away again and back at the girl, who had recovered her breath. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the girl’s hands, no doubt covered in whatever filth that creature had on it.

“C’mere.” Ruby huffed out. The girl complied and headed towards her. “Hold out your hands.” The girl did as told. The curly-haired woman reached her sweaty hands into her bag and grabbed the half-filled water, unscrewing it and pouring it on the girl’s hands. “Wash off.” The girl began wiping her hands, and Ruby had to admire that the girl was willing to listen and do as told. Most children she had met lacked that quality.

They headed down east hand-in-hand (the girl still insisted on holding it). Ruby didn’t try to start a conversation, but there was a question in the back of her mind that was burning its way to her lips.

“Who were your parents?” She blurted before she could stop herself. The girl looked up, confused. Ruby swallowed. “Your parents?” She tried again. Nothing. The girl looked back ahead and walked on. The curly-haired woman wondered if it was a sore subject for her, but the girl didn’t seem downcast at the question.

“Why were you at Jersey?” It was time for her to start prying, to get the girl to open up like she supposed Sapphire wanted her to do. The girl shrugged.

“Your parents?” She tried once more. The girl didn’t make any gesture; she was ignoring the question. Ruby decided to leave it.

“Do you like Percy?”

A nod.

“Do you like Sapphire?”

Another nod.

“Do you like me?”

A nod so slow it took her a minute to complete. Ruby cringed.

_Harsh._

Even if she didn’t understand the kid, she didn’t want to be disliked by her. Her mind tried to argue that the girl still nodded, but she squashed it down because it took her a minute to nod, which meant that she was uncertain of it. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared ahead. In her peripheral, she caught sight of a car, and an idea hatched in her mind.

“Oh, let’s go over here!” She placed both of her large hands on the girls back and began pushing her to the car. “Check this out.” She let go of the girl and opened the door. “This is a ‘car’. People used to drive in these things, yeah? They used to move!” She ushered the girl into the driver’s seat.

“This is the wheel seat. People controlled the car using this thing” She pointed a thick finger to the wheel. The girl looked it over and placed both of her hands on the wheel, testing it and seeming surprised when it turned. Ruby reached into her bag and took out the girl’s toy, setting it on the dashboard. “See? It’s like your toy!” The girl’s mouth hung open and she looked between the wheel and the toy, making the connection. Ruby grinned at the girl’s star struck expression. She pointed to the gear shift.

“You used this thing to control your speed. ‘R’ stands for really fast-“ Before the curly-haired woman could finish, the girl grabbed ahold of the gear shift and pulled it to ‘r’, a grin on her face that matched Ruby’s almost to a tee.

“See, look how fast you’re going now!” They weren’t moving, but it was apparent that the girl’s imagination was doing the work for her; Ruby has never seen anyone look that amazed. To help, she began to make her own sound effects, a low humming that started deep in her throat. The girl leaned forward and she twisted the wheel with one hand and moved the gear shift back and forth with the other.

Then she did something Ruby never thought she would hear.

She laughed.

It was a high-pitched noise that carried nothing but pure joy as she had her fun, and the sound almost made Ruby cry because _stars it was the most beautiful thing she’s heard_. The girl luckily didn’t seem to notice her misty eyes, and Ruby cursed herself for being so emotional as she wiped them away.

As her arm drew away from her face, she caught sight of armored people coming up the road.

She had to blink to make sure it wasn’t just humanoid shaped spots in her vision, but blinking only made it clearer. Gas masks, leather shoulder pads, road leathers, metal shin guards and chest armor. Three males in the front, two females in the back. Raiders.

A noise of panic emitted from her as she jumped in the car, knocking Garnet to the car floor as she grasped for the door handle and closed it as gently as she could with her adrenaline kicking in. The girl at first seemed shocked at being attacked by the curly-haired woman, but her face began to show signs of panic as she noticed Ruby’s alarmed state. Ruby fell to the car floor with her and covered a hand over her mouth in case she decided that _now_ would be the best time to talk. The other hand drew her colt and held it close to her chest as she watched the window of the car.

Footsteps. Muffled voices. Laughter.

She clutched the gun in her hand. The girl began to whimper.

“Shh.” She unconsciously squeezed the hand around the girl’s mouth.

Footsteps. Louder. Right beside the car. A shadow casts from the window onto the car seat.

The door opens.

“We saw you go in there, dumbass. Get the fuck out.” A rifle, made from pipe and old gun parts, was trained on her head. Ruby gulped and, despite her finger being on the trigger of the gun, she felt herself freeze up.

“Please-“

“Get the fuck out!” Two strong hands seized her as one of the male raiders leaned in, dragging her out and throwing her to the hard pavement. A boot stomped on her chest, holding her down and knocking the air out of her lungs. Moments later she heard a thump as the girl followed.

“Whatcha think?” A high-pitched female voice said as she stepped towards one of the taller males. “Kill and loot?”

“Nah,” He tilted his head down at them, goggles of his mask glinting in the setting sun. “She’s got a kid.”

“Piper ain’t here to see.” The female said.

“Piper has a code that we follow.” One of the other males chimed in, voice deeper than the taller one. He stepped towards Ruby and the girl, keeping his rifle on them. The girl scrambled to Ruby’s side despite the raider hanging over them, throwing herself across Ruby’s chest and hugging her as she stared up at the raider with fear. The raider above them huffed and pulled his massive boot off of the curly-haired woman.

“Get up.” Ruby did as told.

“Gun down.” Ruby bent down and set the gun on the ground, putting her hands up afterwards. The raider tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck.

“What’s in the bag?”

“Food and water.”

“Empty it.”

Ruby was about to do as told, but the other female raider yanked the bag from her before she could do so and shook it out, sending the bags and cans of food and the water to the floor. The male with the deep voice began to pick them up and place them in the duffle bag hanging over his shoulders.

“Grab the gun.” The female who was talking to the taller male stepped over and picked up the gun, turning it over in her gloved hands as she examined it.

“Wow,” She clicked her tongue. “A colt. These are hard to come by, yeah?”

“That’s all we have.” Ruby started, trembling almost as badly as the girl was. “Please, leave us alone.”

“What’s in the girl’s pockets?” The taller male pressed. Ruby gritted her teeth.

“She has nothing.”

“Empty them.”

The third and last male raider, who had been checking out the car beforehand, stepped over towards the girl.

“You stay away from her!” Ruby snapped, glaring at the raider and balling her fists up, holding them close to her chest as she assumed a fighter’s stance. In seconds, the taller male stepped forward, unholstered his gun, and smacked her in the forehead with the butt of it. Stars exploded across her vision and she felt something break as she fell back, head swimming and nostrils leaking blood.

Through her dazed vision, she saw the third raider grab the girl and shove his hands down her pockets, turning them inside out before pushing her to the floor. The girl let out a whimper as she crawled over to Ruby, tears streaming down her face and small hiccups escaping from her as she let out terrified sobs.

“Empty your pockets, now, little red.” The raider was referring to the red headband Ruby wore. She didn’t hesitant as she shoved her hands in her pockets and turned them inside out, sending bits of scrap metal down on the ground. The other female raider bent down and picked them up, looking at it.

“Only 6?” Her head tilted and her goggles glinted in the sun.

“It’s all I have!” Ruby swore as she leaned forward and put her hands up again. The raider with the deep voice stepped towards her.

“Where you live?”

“Percy.”

“Percy,” He spat the name as if it were a curse. “Of course she’s fucking poor. She lives in that trash town.”

“Let’s bounce. This wasn’t even worth our time.” The female raider said, shoving the colt into her belt. The other raiders began to back off, but the raider with the deep voice kept his gun trained on Ruby until they were down the road.

Ruby waited until they were out of sight, and then she waited ten more minutes before she let out a roar that could rival even the most vicious beast.

The string of curses that left her lips were anything but pleasant as she kicked at the ground, stamped her feet, and ran towards the car and kicked it until she was sure she nearly broke bones. If there was one thing she hated, it was feeling powerless, and she had never felt as powerless as she did then.

Her fist hit the car and came close to denting it before she rested both hands there and slammed her head onto the metal, cursing at herself. Why, why, _why_ didn’t she keep an eye on the road? _Why_ didn’t she shoot? _Why_ didn’t she-

Sniffling brought her back from her rage and into reality. She glanced back and saw the girl curled into herself, sobbing. Shame washed over Ruby as she realized that she had forgotten about the girl in favor for focusing on herself.

“Hey, hey…” She moved towards her and, after a moment of hesitance, wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. They’re gone now.” The girl was shaking her head and she pointed a shaking finger up to Ruby’s bleeding nose. The curly-haired woman pressed a hand over it, wincing at the pain that shot through it and her eye sockets.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

The girl was shaking her head. Ruby bit her lip.

“We’re fine. They’re gone now. The bad people are gone. I’m here.” Ruby held on tighter and tried to stop her own tears from coming on. Just earlier she heard the first instance of the girl laughing, and now only twenty minutes later she was hearing her crying for the first time and one was _her doing_ and the other one was _her fault_.

She drew away and looked at the face of the girl; darker than usual, puffy eyes, cheeks streaked with tears, fear in her eyes and written on her expression as plain as day.

Something sparked deep within Ruby.

She never wanted to hear her cry again.

She never wanted her to be afraid like that again.

She never wanted her to feel as powerless as she did.

It was an instinct that came deep within her that she didn’t even know she had.

Her eyes narrowed as she pulled herself away from the girl and walked over to the car. She grabbed the toy car off the dashboard and whipped around, marching over to her discarded messenger bag and slinging it over her shoulders. She walked over to the girl and kneeled down, holding out the car. The girl peaked at it through her fingers. Ruby waited until she took it before she began to speak.

“You saw those people right? They do that to everyone. They exist only to ruin people’s days and attack them. They are scum, you are better than them, and one day you’ll be even more powerful than them. I’ll teach you how, I promise.” Admittedly, the speech was paraphrased from the ‘crash course on outsiders’ speech back at Blue Diamond’s society, but it made her feel empowered back then so she hoped it would have the same effect on the girl. It seemed to; the girl was listening with interest as Ruby continued to downgrade the raiders while building her up.

You’re-“ Ruby stumbled, trying to remember the rest of the speech. It’s been 17 years since she heard it. “You’re, uh, str-stong! In the real way! Strong in the real way! Yeah that’s it, I think.” The last part was said to herself but it all had the same effect on the now-smiling girl.

The sun was beginning to disappear when Ruby pulled the girl off the ground and they began to walk back to Percy, hand-in-hand and a look of determination that mirrored each other’s exactly. Ruby could only hope that she struck a chord within the girl and it wasn’t just temporary.

Deep down, she hoped that her sudden instinct to protect the girl from anything that dared to touch her wasn’t temporary either.


	2. A Master of her Craft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet takes on a job against a cannibal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor spoiler for chapter 12 in this here chapter. I hope you enjoy the second installment of this story; stay until the end and you get a free taste of tainted meat!

**_A Master of her Craft_ **

Around her was the chaotic scene of the bar of Pierre. Men and women shouting obscenities as they traded blows with each other, glassware flying through the air and the broken shards being used as weapons, an armored man with a side sweep slamming into the counter beside her, rattling the loose wood.

Despite all of it, Garnet sipped at her whiskey with a calmness that betrayed the chaos.  She downs the amber liquid and sets the empty glass down, sliding it over to the armored man without turning her stoic gaze over to him. He didn’t hesitate in grabbing it in his gloved hand and smashing it against the face of the man who threw him towards the bar, bloodying his cheek and temple. In front of her, Sam, the bartender who always had a white dress shirt with a brown vest on and an eyepatch over his eye, cleaned off a shot glass, single eyebrow furrowed as he watched the brawl, no doubt annoyed at losing his glassware.

Garnet waved for another drink, and Sam complied in setting the shot glass down and pouring whiskey into it. As she took another sip, Sam reached for another glass left on the counter and began to clean that one. A deep breath was taken in through the dark woman’s mouth and released through her nose as she set the glass down, throat burning and stomach warm from the alcohol.

A man took a seat in the stool beside her, the old furniture creaking a threat to break under his weight. He was shuffling something in his hands before depositing it into a tin metal box and clasping the lid back on it. The box was moved so it was directly in front of his chest. Garnet didn’t look at the man, but she eyed the box with interest.

“Outside of Heart City. A mile away from Ottoco superstore. Should be an area closed off with palisades and steel walls” The man’s voice was gruff, the volume barely rising over the screaming and crashing sounding in the bar. The corner of Garnet’s lips pulled down into a frown.

“Who?”

“He’s dubbed ‘Ottoco Cannibal’.”

“How much?”

The man slid her the metal box and Garnet resisted the urge to pop it open and check the contents.

“That’s the down payment. The rest will be given after he is dead.” Without waiting for a response, he stood up and maneuvered around the crowd of fighting patrons, heading for the steel door of the bar and exiting through it. Breathing out again, Garnet pulled the lid off and looked inside. 5 queens. A smirk pulled over her thick lips as she clasped the lid back on and stood from her seat. She adjusted the cuff of the black dress shirt she was wearing- a gift from her mother Ruby last year- and made her way for the door.

The crowd parted to let her through, no one daring to get near the dark woman much less risk accidentally pulling her into a fight. Without incident, Garnet exited the bar.

* * *

 

A thumb pushed the .44 bullet into the last hole of the chamber. One flick of the gun shut the chamber back into place and a dark hand spun it, the noise drawing a smirk from its user. Garnet stuffed the revolver into its holster and she took care in loading the Uzi- it was loaned to her, after all. She made sure the safety was on as she held the gun securely against her chest and Garnet continued her trek on through the small town, shrouded in darkness except for the light of the moon that shone on her back. She should only be a couple blocks away from the raider camp, if her map was correct. The dark woman studied the tattered paper once more before depositing it back into the pocket of her pants.

Soon enough, lampposts came into view, the sound of humming from the generators that lied next to them. Garnet craned her neck up as she looked over the camp. It was a five story building surrounded by steel walls and palisades, as the man had described to her. The walls were coated with rust and paint spelling out obscenities and depicted graphic pictures, Near the top of the wall, Garnet could see through the dark a platform in which a female with a Mohawk and a painted face was standing on. Her torso was bare, save for a bullet strap on her chest. Garnet frowned as she approached, finger moving from the side of the Uzi to the trigger.

The female spotted her after she approached a few more yards, and she lifted up a rifle improvised with pipes and old guns, pointing the barrel at the dark woman’s head. Garnet stopped, Uzi clutched tightly in her hands.

“You have ten seconds to back off before I shoot you.” She called out. It didn’t deter the dark woman, who kept walking, finger switching off the safety and returning to the trigger in a quick motion.

“I’m warning you, back off!” A sneer crossed over Garnet’s face and in a motion that would seem like a blur to anyone observing it, she lifted the gun and fired once, sparks from the barrel lighting up the night and her severe face for a moment. The shot blew the raider’s jaw clean off and sent her stumbling back off of the platform. Garnet sped up her walking, making a beeline for the twin doors near the platform. With a strong kick, the doors were knocked open, lock breaking and falling to the floor with a clatter that echoed through the silent night.

The noise brought the attention of startled raiders, some of them already behind cover while others were near a fire, something that looked humanoid stuck through a rod and hanging over the fire roasting. Garnet didn’t waste time before ducking behind a nearby stairwell, two bullets planting themselves in the ground she had been standing in moments prior. 

Gunfire echoed in the air, as well as the shouts of raiders as they gave orders and taunted her, reminding Garnet of the bar and the brawl. A bullet broke through the wood of the staircase and implanted itself into the steel wall behind it. Garnet ducked down further, and her arm stuck straight out and she fired blindly over the staircase. The cry of a woman told her she hit something, but Garnet dropped her arm back down because she needed to reload. The magazine was ejected and stuffed into her harness, a new one drawn from her belt and stuck into the Uzi.

Instead of sticking her arm out, Garnet sat up and she took aim into a crowd of raiders behind sandbags. She fired and bullets cut straight through the sandbags and sunk into the enemies crouched behind them, felling them and giving her less to deal with. A satisfied smirk crossed over her face as one of the raiders shouted:

“You fucking bastard!” They were obviously upset at the death of their friends. More bullets entered the staircase and splintered the wood until it came out the other side. One bullet cut through at the bottom and sunk into her boot, the shot hitting the metal of her prosthetic leg before stopping. Garnet didn’t flinch as she reached down and picked the bullet out of her boot and flicked it to the side.

She sat up and fired off again, hitting the raider that screamed at her and three more near the fire. Two left now. Garnet forgoes the Uzi in favor for her revolver. She didn’t bother ducking down as she took aim at a male’s head, pulling the hammer back and firing. The bullet hit its mark; the man’s head exploded into gore and his body flailed back onto the ground. She took aim at the last one, who was still stubbornly firing.

Garnet gritted her teeth in agony as a bullet ripped through her shirt and grazed over her ribs, drawing hot blood and searing pain.

_Damn, I was hoping to not have to go to the doctor’s after this._

She fired once and the bullet rendered the raider dead. A sudden silence fell over the night as all gun fire ceased, and Garnet couldn’t help but enjoy the peace. Her dark hand pressed into the wound on her side.

“Fuck,” She whispered through her teeth. It hurt. She pulled her hand away and it was sticky and glistening with her blood. Standing up from the staircase, she crossed the encampment to the entrance of the five story building. If she was lucky, the people inside would think that the gunfire ceasing was a result of the intruder being shot down and she would be able to get the drop on them. But that proved unlikely because someone could easy look out the many windows lining the building and see that that wasn’t the case.

Smearing the blood down on her pants, Garnet opened the door and headed inside, head held down and body hunched over in order to keep herself safe. The first hallway was empty and she crossed it without incident. Only as she headed up the stairwell did she hear raiders.

“What the fuck is going on outside?”

“It’s probably some dumbass intruder. They’re dead now for sure.”

“You sure? It’s too quiet outside. We should go check.”

“Uh, you can check. I’m not keen on dying tonight.”

Garnet frowned as she pulled the hammer of her revolver back. She crept up the rest of the stairs and headed up onto the second floor, glancing down the corridor to see that the raiders were sitting on chairs facing adjacent to each other, a chess table between them, the black pieces dominating the board. Garnet took aim at the one on the left, a bearded man with a painted face much like the lookout she killed.

The trigger was squeezed and a _bang!_ sounded as the bullet exited the barrel and entered the bearded man’s head. His companion, a balding man, jolted up from his seat and stared down at Garnet with wide eyes. He twisted and scrambled for the gun resting on the wall, but Garnet was quicker and she had already pulled her hammer back and fired again just as his fingertips made contact with the stock of the gun. He gurgled as the bullet ripped through his throat and destroyed his windpipe, flooding the remains with blood as he collapsed to the ground. A grimace spread over the dark woman’s face as she watched him twist and writhe in agony, rooted to her spot.

It was only when he finally stopped moving that she snapped out of her stupor.

‘I could have ended it sooner.’ She thought to herself with no small amount of regret. Her footsteps echoed through the hallway as she strode down towards the body. The sound of voices behind the walls brought Garnet back to the urgency of the situation; she couldn’t sit here and dwell on the death of a raider who would have killed her had she not fired first. Steeling herself, the dark woman moved down the hallway, switching to her Uzi as she went.

_Ottoco Cannibal, where are you?_

She kicked open a door in her way, the force sending the raider standing behind it to the ground. Garnet’s face didn’t change from its impassiveness as she unloaded half a clip into his back and then ducked behind another doorway. Gunfire echoed through the hallways, rendering the dark woman’s ears a ringing mess and littering the wall and doorway with bullet holes. She stuck out the arm holding the Uzi and fired blindly. A sharp stabbing pain shot through her arm.

“Agh, fuck!” A bullet had sunk deep into her forearm and Garnet jerked her hand back. Blood flowed out of the wound in a steady stream. Her teeth ground together, the other hand clutching the injured forearm. Irritation washed over her in waves; this was going to cost the entire down payment in medical bills.

The dark woman switched her gun into the other hand and leaned out of the door way. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the single raider standing there, dressed head to toe in armor and leathers. The goggles of his gas mask glinted in the moonlight pouring in from the window he was standing beside. He raised his machine gun and fired just as Garnet squeezed the trigger of the Uzi.

The first five shots missed him, but the sixth hit his leg and the seventh hit his chest, each bullet penetrating the armor and hitting the skin. Still, he did not go down and he continued to fire at Garnet, even going as far as to start stepping in her direction.

“Shit,” Garnet ducked behind the doorway again and switched to her revolver. The hammer was pulled back and she leaned out the doorway again and fired a single shot to the raider’s head. The bullet broke the glass of the goggle, shards flying out everywhere. It didn’t even draw a scream from him, nor did it stop his advance. Mismatched eyes darted to his belt, and she spotted a container of blue fluid and an empty syringe.

_Of course._

Garnet pulled the hammer back and fired again, hitting the broken goggle one last time. The bullet exited through the raider’s head and he toppled backwards onto the floor without a sound. A breath of relief released through an open mouth. Garnet reached into her pocket, pulled out several bullets, and reloaded her revolver as she strode over to the corpse. The revolver pushed back into its holster and the dark woman bent down and snatched the syringe and bottle off of the belt, looking the items over.

_This will cover the medical costs._

She deposited the syringe into her own belt and the bottle into her pocket, before continuing on through the building.

* * *

 

By the time she reached the fifth floor, Garnet had already fought a few dozen raiders and was exhausted. Her arm and ribs were still leaking blood, and she felt lightheaded from the loss of it. The Uzi was out of ammo and remained strapped to her harness. Her revolver only had two bullets left in it.

Garnet kicked aside a wad of papers as she headed for a couch in the lounge room she found herself in. She took a seat on the furniture and let out a deep sigh, not at all concerned how exposed she is. These raiders were the type that let danger come to them first. A dark hand ran through a mane of curls, pulling blood and sweat out of them. Garnet’s chest rose and fell as she tried to regain her lost breath. Taking a nap on this couch after clearing the building was an increasingly enticing idea the more her exhausted mind thought about it.

With great reluctance, Garnet lifted herself from the couch and drew her revolver again. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she can rest. The hammer was pulled back and Garnet trekked on through the lounge and towards the door on the other side of it.

A heavy boot kicked open the door and it fell from its rusted hinges. Inside of the open room was the largest man she had ever seen. 7’0” and almost as wide as he was tall. His hair fell around his face in a greasy sweep and green eyes covered with locks of it leered at the dark woman. In his hands were a hunting knife and a two-spoked piece of metal that had a slab of meat stabbed onto it.

_Tainted meat._

Garnet thought with a grimace. She thought of old stories she was told as a kid; one bite of tainted meat was all it took for you to become a monster who craved it. And this man definitely had a look of a monster. His old business suit was stained with blood, many of the stains in the shape of handprints and great splatters. The cannibal stood from his seat in an old desk chair and set his utensils down on the table.

“Hello.” His voice was calm and deep, almost sounding like a rumble. Garnet tensed, hand clutching the gun tighter, veins popping out against the skin of her forearm and forcing more blood through the bullet hole.

“Hello.” She greeted back. False pleasantries.

“I see you got through our… admittedly-lacking defenses.” He commented. One of his hands reached for a rag and he cleaned his blood-stained hands off and dabbed around his mouth.

“Wasn’t hard.” Garnet said lowly. She didn’t relax from her tense posture.

“I assume you are here to kill me?”

“You assume correct.”

“Let me guess who hired you; Darren Dicicco?” The cannibal rumbled. Garnet tensed further.

“I’m not allowed to give that information.”

“Let me make this easy for you. I give you 12 queens, you leave and forget I was here.” He offered. He set the rag down and clasped his hands behind his back, standing even taller than he was before.

“My client is paying me more.”

“20.” The price made Garnet’s mismatched eyes widen, surprised at how quickly he upped it. A part of her considered it, but the other part told her to go ahead and kill him. She raised the revolver and aimed between his eyes.

“I would be doin’ a service to Keystone,” Garnet started. “Gettin’ rid of a cannibal.” The cannibal reacted only with a deep sigh.

“A poor service.” He sat back down in his chair, the old furniture creaking with his weight. “My bodyguards- before you killed them- and I only eat scum, not innocents.”

“You still _eat_ people.” Garnet’s lips curled back in disgust. She felt sick saying it.

“It’s an acquired taste.”

“ _Beer_ is an acquired taste, not tainted meat.”

“Have you ever had a bite?” The man sat up again and he grabbed his makeshift fork, stepping around the desk so he was standing in front of it. Garnet tensed even more. “Ever curious enough to try?”

“Get away from me.” The cannibal didn’t listen, taking quick strides over to her with large legs. The fork was clutched in a white-knuckled grip, the slab of meat still on it. Garnet aimed at his head and growled out another warning that went unheeded.

“I don’t think you have room to judge unless you try what you are judging. Maybe that is just an old-world way of thinking, though.” The cannibal remarked. He was getting closer, only a few feet away from the dark woman. Garnet backed away and squeezed the trigger of the revolver. The bullet flew through his grey hair and hit the wall. That was all it took for the man to lunge.

Garnet wasn’t able to dodge before he crashed into her, sending her to the ground effortlessly. Her head rebounded off the wooden floorboards and a gasp of pain escaped her as stars exploded in her vision. The cannibal shifted himself so he was straddling her and a large hand clamped over her jaw, thumb digging into her cheek and index finger at her eye socket.

“Who are you to judge what I can survive on? Not everyone has the pleasure of buying ‘regular’ food.” He sneered, baring bloodstained teeth. Garnet struggled, but the massive man kept her pinned. Her only free hand struggled towards the revolver knocked out of her reach.

The utensil with the human meat was stuck to her face, and Garnet desperately tried to recoil away from it. Her voice came out muffled as she tried to shout at the cannibal.

“What will your people think when they find out that you had tainted meat? Why, they’ll outcast you just like they did to me! You think I chose to live like this?” He removed his hand from her jaw and moved it to her chin. He forced it open. Garnet struggled, trying to get away as he brought the utensil to her mouth. The meat touched the tip of her tongue when the hand that was struggling towards the revolver came in contact with the leather grip, and she flicked it closer and snatched it up, swiping her hand around and pistol-whipping the cannibal in the face, feeling his bones crunch with her force. The cannibal let out a booming cry of pain as he cowered back, hands holding his broken and bleeding nose. Garnet scooted out from under him and spat to the floor, trying to get the taste of the meat off her tongue.

With a growl, she took aim and shot the man in the chest. The bullet sunk in deep and the cannibal let out a roar that shook the walls. A hand slapped over the wound, squeezing the surrounding flesh, and he glared at her with pure hatred. In a quick motion he was at his feet and charging towards Garnet, but she was prepared this time and dodged out of the way. The man was unable to stop his momentum before he hit a bookshelf. Almost as if he weren’t injured at all, he grabbed a poker off of the bookshelf and whipped around, the weapon gripped tightly.

Garnet pulled the hammer back and fired, but the familiar click of the gun reminded her that she only had two bullets. With a curse, she tucked the gun into its holster and dropped down into a fighting stance. The cannibal, with heaving breaths that spoke of the pain he was experiencing from his injuries, stood tall and still, not wanting to make the first move. Garnet’s eyes darted towards the poker; she would need to isolate that hand. Experience told her that he would be far too concerned with getting the poker away from her that he would forget he can still punch and kick her with his free appendages. 

Steeling herself, she lunged for the hand, and like she predicted he tried to jerk his arm away. Her hands grabbed onto the poker and she held it away, her other hand coming free from the weapon and socking the man across his face. She managed to deliver another punch to his broken nose before he wretched the poker out of her grip and swiped, catching her on her thigh. Throbbing pain exploded through it, and a shout escaped Garnet as she stumbled away, hands instinctively going to clutch at the cut and press down, trying to stop the minimal blood flow. The man sprang forward, stabbing the poker towards her. The tip of it cut into her chest, drawing a spark of pain, but Garnet managed to jerk away before it could go all the way through.

“Fucker,” she spat as she brought her fists up again. She batted away the next stab from the poker and delivered a kick to his stomach, sending him stumbling back. Without hesitation, Garnet pressed forward and grabbed the poker with both hands. Her biceps strained as she struggled to pull the poker from the man’s strong grip. After a ten second struggle, she pulled it out of the cannibal’s hand. In a quick motion, Garnet turned the poker around so the sharp end pointed towards the man. The dark woman wasted no time jumping forward and driving the poker deep into the cannibal’s stomach. She could feel as the metal drove through the multiple layers of skin and muscle, until the tip of it scraped against bone.

His scream of pain echoed through the room as his hands went to the poker, trying but failing to pull it from his flesh. With a growl, Garnet bent down and grabbed a blanket acting as a rug off of the floor, twisting it into a rope. Her legs carried her forward towards the man and she jumped, managing to get the sheet around his neck and swing herself around until she was at his back. One foot planted to the ground while the other dug at his back, muscular arms crossing the sheet-rope so it enclosed around the cannibal’s neck and pulling hard.

The man let out gargled gasps of air, eyes bulging from their sockets as he tried to reach behind him to get the rope off his neck. He gave up at that quickly and instead tried to create space between the rope and his neck using his hands. Garnet pulled tighter, eliminating possibilities of him succeeding.

The man let out chokes as she continued to pull whilst also kicking his body away from her, increasing the pressure on his neck until finally he slumped and Garnet’s tired arms couldn’t hold his massive weight. The cannibal hit the floor, poker stabbing the rest of the way through him with a wet _shlink!_ Garnet jumped forward onto his back, grabbing the sheet-rope again and pulling. She remained that way for a minute until finally she let go of the ropes and rolled off of him, gasping for air. Her vision danced with blackspots, and she shut her eyes as she tried to regulate her breathing and resist the urge to faint. Every part of her ached.

“Stars damn it,” She forced herself to sit up with a groan, hunching forward. She brought her knee up and set her arm over it, still breathing hard. It took her a full minute before she was able to stand and even then she still wobbled. Only through sheer willpower and fleeting adrenaline was Garnet able to keep herself from falling over. There was still something she wanted to do.

The dark woman crossed the room and snatched the discarded utensil off the wooden floorboards. With a jerk of her arm, she flung the slab of meat off of the fork and she stomped over to the man. She stood there for a moment, standing over his corpse, before a shout escaped her and she brought the fork up and sunk it deep into the back of his head. Uneven breaths escaped her as she glared down at his head, teeth bared.

_Serves him right._

She turned away and spat to the floor, still trying to get the last of the taste out of her mouth. She brought a trembling forearm to her thick lips and wiped the spit away. Not wanting to spend another moment in the room, the dark woman stalked out of it and into the lounge, continuing on down the room and passing by the inviting couch without stopping. The adrenaline wouldn’t let her sleep, anyway.

* * *

 

The bar was far more mellow and calm when Garnet returned to it, patrons chatting and laughing lively instead of trying to kill each other. Out of the corner of her blue eye, she spotted the man with the side-sweep and the man he glassed talking with each other while playing poker. The dark woman was glad that this was the environment she came back to; the ‘fight’ instinct still coursing through her might have made her join one of the brawls this time around.

Patrons parted and actively avoided her as she approached the counter, and in the back of her mind Garnet was aware that she was still covered in blood and sweat and still had her guns strapped to her. Though she couldn’t find it in her to care as she took a seat on her usual bar stool and spread her still-bleeding forearm over it. Sam stopped talking to the female patron he was near and approached her instead, single eyebrow furrowed.

“You’re bleeding all over my counter.”

“Shut the fuck up and get me a whiskey.” The dark woman growled. Sam rolled his one eye and he headed for the cabinets behind him that held the drinks and glassware.

Whiskey poured into the shot glass and Garnet downed it in a quick motion, slamming the glass back down onto the counter with more force than necessary. The strong alcohol washed away the last of the taste of tainted meat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, any takers on that meat?


	3. Musings of a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow Diamond reflects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one shot is a lot shorter than the others. It came from my attempt at the writing exercise 'humanize your villian'
> 
> Contains major spoilers for LRA

_**Musings of a Diamond** _

 

Yellow Diamond wasn’t invincible.

She carried herself like she was, but she wasn’t. Never has, never _had_ , never will be. Those who call her the ‘Scarred Diamond” saw her for false immortality, feared her for it. If Yellow Diamond ever got to meet ‘they’, she would tell them how wrong they were. Then she would kill them.

The scars on her sternum and eye, the ones that always ached with a dull fire, served as her reminder that she could die. They served as her reminder that everyone deserved two chances and she used both of those within the first 5 years of her creation as the ‘scarred diamond’. Yellow Diamond never minded that she used them, though. The first scar, the one on her eye, was what turned her mutant. The second one on her sternum was a noble sacrifice for a friend.

Yellow Diamond kept silent as she leaned back on the cushioned seats of her truck, not bothering to look at the passing scenery of her city; she’d rather brood. Brood on her sickening mortality, brood on who she was about to face, brood on the death of the one she come to know as her best friend.

Yellow Diamond wasn’t invincible. Pink Diamond wasn’t either.

Pink Diamond was served a reminder.

Yellow wished it were her instead.

Death wasn’t something that Yellow Diamond coveted, it was just something that followed her around like a curse. A curse that often broke the mask of the monster and revealed the human she was underneath. A curse that made her cry tears that burned the scars they soaked into like hellfire. When she first heard of Pink Diamond’s death, by the frantic topaz that ran into her room to inform her, the roaring monster was snuffed into a whimpering human. Yellow Diamond had sent out the topaz, half-dazed, and for the first time in twenty years she began to cry.

_My fault. It was all my fault. Why am I like this? Why did I kill her? Why did I let human desire cloud my judgement?_

All questions asked by the human. All left unanswered once the monster regained her composure.

_What’s done is done._

If the death of her best friend was a price to pay for her conquest, then so be it.

(Sometimes, Yellow Diamond wished she believed those words.)

Her apologies slipped out unintentionally, breaking the quiet inside the truck. There was a grey metal shield that blocked off the front of the truck from the rear, so she had no fear to be heard. But it made her apologies, as quiet as the aftermath of a nuclear bomb striking a bustling city, echo back at her, taunting her. A scarred hand reached for a handle at the top of the truck and gave it a squeeze, and the plastic cracked and with a small tug the handle came off the vehicle along with a patch of the cotton roofing. Yellow Diamond began to break it further, because if she didn’t have something to do with her hands then she would start digging into her skin.

The cloning technology Pink Diamond rediscovered was something admirable. The first generation, which in hindsight was no better than clusters disguised in human skin, shocked them all once Pink Diamond presented it. And it continued to shock them again and again each time she presented a new generation, all up until the 7th generation. The perfect one.

_The one that’ll bring her back._

But it’ll never be Pink Diamond who breaks free from her vat and looks at the world already knowing her purpose. It’ll be Pink Diamond DC 02, who will not know who she once was, who will not know that Yellow Diamond was once her friend. Who will not know that Yellow Diamond was her inadvertent executioner. If she used the technology to recreate her, it’ll never be her.

_She can’t be brought back._

The thought was too general for Yellow Diamond’s taste.

_I can’t bring her back._

The handle she had been worrying was reduced to plastic shards that cut into her palms and fingers and slicked her hands with hot blood. Yellow Diamond didn’t pay the mutilation mind.

A knock on her window. Yellow Diamond rolled it down and regarded the jasper outside with a bored expression that spoke nothing of her turmoil.

“What is it?”

“We’re almost there.”  The jasper was hanging off the side of the truck by a railing, her feet on top of the tire guard. Yellow Diamond gave a nod and a wave of her hand.

“Do another body count and call in.” She faced the grey divider of the truck and rolled up the window. Not another regard to the jasper. Not another regard to her objective as she drifted back into her thoughts.

Her killing the mongrel outsider was a justice; her wasteland could use less of them wandering around. The pearl was one last insult to Pink Diamond. Her own personal pearl, the one she had molded to her tastes and trained to fit her needs. If Yellow Diamond was a poetic person, she would say that the pearl was the last piece of Pink.

_The one I get to kill personally._

The one she will get to look in the eyes as she takes their life from them.

One more body to add to the thousands.

One more to the dozen she regrets killing.

Death was the curse that followed her around, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My new story should be posted either this week or next week.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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